The recently accessible terahertz (THz) portion of the electromagnetic spectra, also known as T-ray spectra, has a wide potential to be employed in materials, medical, biomedical, and biological studies and characterization.
Ballistic characterization of improved materials for Soldier personal protective equipment is an ever challenging task, requiring precise measurement of materials during ballistic impact. Current dynamic deformation technologies, such as high speed digital image correlation (DIC), and laser velocimetry and vibrometry, are only able to provide surface measurements. However, there is a need to measure the dynamic delamination and mass loss of composite material, allowing calculation of available kinetic energy contributing to the trauma in non-lethal cases. Further, characterization of diffusion kinetics and depth profiling of permeating analytes is also important for basic studies of transdermal drug delivery and diagnostics.
Terahertz spectrometry is an emerging novel technique that has great potential in diagnosis of certain disease conditions as well as in the analysis of actives in certain biological tissues. Broadband terahertz technology utilizes frequencies from ˜100 GHz to over 30 THz that can be used to obtain tomographic information on the tissue surface and its interior, as well as interaction of the actives with tissue.